The Council: A Loose String
Rated PG A Loose String is the first story in The Council. There will be approximately 7 chaptersA/N: It will be the shortest book, only because the plotline for this one isn't very large., not including the prologue and/or epilogue. Prologue The pit was seemingly endless. A quick glance at it and you would assume it was bottomless. Oh how wrong that is. At the bottom of the pit lies a cage. Eons ago, the primordial gods, the titans, and the Olympians combined used their collective power to construct The Cage, capable of holding the most powerful and oldest presumably primordial being; Chaos. They feared that Chaos would one day awaken and unleash his wrath upon them. A pit was constructed around The Cage, a pit so well concealed it was easier to find Olympus. To this day, Chaos has not risen. The Cage, however, is occupied. Once the Titans imprisoned their primordial relatives, they placed Pontus into The Cage. Pontus, protegnos of the Ocean, ruler of the seas. They feared him more than they feared Ouranos himself. The Olympians followed the titans, and left Pontus in his godforsaken prison. This act of defiance turned Pontus against the gods. He longed to be free of his prison, and the gods were as bad as their ancestors. Finally, a prophecy was made by the Oracle of Delphi. The prophecy told of a time when a pair of twins would be born with the ability to free Pontus from his prison. Pontus' minions stayed loyal to him during his time in the Cage. They searched far and wide for the twins of prophecy, but to no avail. Many twins have been suspected over the years, including Apollo and Artemis, but Pontus still has not found them. His search continues. Chapter 1 Anna still had nightmares. They had arrived at The Council's HQ a few weeks ago; Hecate had appeared to them as soon as they had left Texas and transported them here. Once Anna had explained the situation to her adoptive mother, the demigods were - of course - allowed to stay. Yet, Anna still woke up every morning with those words in her head; a loose string. '' She shared her room with ten other people, although it was usually only five. There were five bunk beds in the room, with an extra single bed. Most of her room-mates had training this morning, so it was only her and a few other people. Sameth Waltham slept in the bed above her. When Anna's parents died in a car crash, Sameth's mother took her in and raised her as her own. Danielle Brooks was in the bed opposite him; Anna openly disliked her. Jack Naroni was on the bed below her. She pitied him. Jack hadn't spoken at all since his two best friends died in Texas. The twins shared the bunk bed beside Jack's. Alex and Jamie weren't at all surprised to hear about their godly parentage, according to Danielle. Matt Taylor, Anna's best friend, slept on the solitary bed in the corner. A sudden yawn erupted from above Anna; Sam was awake. "Rise and shine, young ones!" He yelled, in a mock attempt at his mother's voice. He jumped from the top bunk, his hazel brown hair bouncing up and down. "C'mon, Anna!" He said, a grin on his face. "Why are you so excited?" Anna replied, suppressing a fake yawn. She didn't want anyone to know that she had been up all night in fear of her nightmares. "You'll see." Sam grabbed her hand and pulled her towards the door; she just had time to slip into her slippers. Anna glanced at the others and saw that they were all fast asleep. She contemplated waking them, but decided against it. Sameth dragged her through the dorms and they walked through the main automatic doors. "Hurry, Anna!" Sam said as they walked through the courtyard towards the mess hall. It was pouring with rain and Anna could see other hunters staring at them, most likely because they were still in their pajamas. "What could be so important that we have to walk through the courtyard, still wearing our PJs, ''in the rain?" Anna asked unenthusiastically. "Its Ashley's birthday." Sam replied as they strutted into the mess hall. "Ashley?" Anna asked. "Ashley Watson from the room opposite ours?" Sam nodded. "Since when do you care about when Ashley Watson's birthday is?" "I don't." Sam replied with a mischievous grin. Anna raised her eyebrow. "Really? So you don't like Ashley? And you're not excited about her birthday?" "Anna, Anna, Anna," Sam replied with a mock sigh. "This is isn't about Ashley. This is about Ashley's birthday." "And her birthday is important because...?" "Because, young grasshopper," Sam began as they walked into Ashley's dorm's designated mess hall. "Someone may have led Ashley to believe that she was receiving an extravagant gift when in reality she is receiving a box full of fire ants, which she conveniently hates." Anna stared at him. "Well tell this someone that that's a horrible trick to play, especially on her birthday." "Ugh, Anna. Where'd your sense of humor go?" "I still have it," She said with a smile. "And this trick would be hilarious any other day. But its her birthday!" Sameth looked at her innocently. "Its not my fault she's born on April Fools Day!" Anna sighed and glared at him. "Don't look at me like that! I'm not heartless, you know. I did get her a real present too; One that she'll really like." "You got her a box of chocolates and a bouquet of flowers, didn't you?" "Maybe," he replied, his familiar grin sliding onto his face. "Now look! She's about to open the box of fire ants." They stared at Ashley, who was surrounded by her friends. A party hat sat on her head; it was a dark blue colour, and emphasized how light her hair was. She unwrapped the box and opened it slowly. A scream erupted out of her mouth as the fire ants crawled all over her hands. Sam burst out laughing. His chuckles could be heard throughout the whole hall. "SAMETH!" Ashley screamed at him. Sam grabbed Anna's hand and began to pull her towards the door as Ashley ran towards them. "I'm sorry, Ash!" He shouted behind them. "Consider it payback for those grasshoppers I found in my shoes! Happy April Fools!" Anna cracked a smile as they sprinted back through the pouring rain towards their dorm. She glanced at Sam and saw that he was staring at her. "What?" She asked, the smile fixed on her face. "Nothing," Sam replied happily. "Its just nice to see you smiling again." Anna's thoughts drifted. Sameth was right, as usual. She had hardly smiled at all since their return from America. When they reached their dorm, they found it empty. "The others are probably already at Training; wanted to be early for their first time." Sam said as he marched into the bathroom with a pair of trousers and a t-shirt; even in the rain, he preferred to dress lightly. Anna got dressed and waited for him at the door. She strapped her handgun onto her leg. Sam burst out of the bathroom a minute later with his hair covered in gel which held it up, the way Elvis Presley wore it. It took Anna one glance to burst into fits of laughter. "What?" Sameth asked, seemingly indignantly; although Anna could tell he wasn't really offended. "Don't you like my new 'do?" Anna quietened down and suppressed a smile. "No of course I like it. Although, you could say it provides A Little Less Conversation." Sam exploded with laughter. "That just has to be the worst Elvis pun ever." "Maybe so, but your hair is so horrid its laughable." "You're just jealous," He said with a grin. "Now lets get going." Anna glanced at the clock and saw that it was 7:52am; eight minutes until training starts. Chapter 2 Sam and Anna sprinted into their Training Room at exactly 8am. Each room in every Dorm had their own Training Room, so it was just the 11 of them and the trainer in the room. This one was exactly like the others; packed with weapons and simulations of all kinds. When they walked in, Matt walked over to join them. Jack and Danielle were standing to the side with the twins next to them. Danielle was staring at Sam, which made Anna feel uncomfortable; Sameth didn't seem to notice. "Good morning hunters," Lisa Bradbury, the trainer, said. "As today is some of your classmates first training session, we will use the time to get to know one another's abilities. Who would like to go first?" Lindsey Harvelle, one of Sam's best friends, volunteered. Sam had a group of friends that meant everything to him, and, coincidentally, they were all in the same dorm. They were Lindsey, Liam Gledhill, and George Holway. Liam's sister, Bela, was also in their dorm. "Very well Ms. Harvelle," Lisa said. Lindsey stood up and walked nimbly over to the archery stand. She glanced at all of the available bows, as if shopping. Lindsey didn't seem to find a bow she liked, so she bent down to her shoes and pulled out something out of her boot; it turned out to be a collapsible crossbow. She lifted her arm and, without even a glance at the target, shot a bolt. It hit the target straight in the bullseye. "Well done Ms. Harvelle!" Lisa said proudly. Danielle stared at Lindsey in awe for a moment, before returning her attention to Sameth. Anna clenched her jaw. "I'm next." She said as she unstrapped her gun. "Alright Ms. Gilbert." Lisa replied, her lips pursed; Anna had always been a troublemaker in Training. She pointed her gun towards the training dummy furthest away and shot; the bullet flew through the air and hit the dummy in the middle of its forehead. "Excellent aim, Ms. Gilbert." Lisa said with a quick smile. She then rushed through the demigods, seemingly because they were short on time, but Anna knew the real answer; Lisa hated demigods, as all traditional hunters did, although everyone in their room was fine with it. When Liam was about to volunteer, the Mission Alert sounded through the hall. Lisa rushed to the computer and Anna could just see Sam's mother, Emily Waltham, who just happened to be The Council's current Director. They had a rushed conversation that no one could hear and then Lisa returned. "Alright, class." She began. "You have a mission." "Us?" Sam replied excitedly. "As in, just us? Not one of the other rooms?" "Just you, Mr. Waltham. Your room will be split into two; one group will be attending to a serious telkhine infestation in North London, while the other group is at a covert mission in the South of Scotland; they will have to take one of the airships." Anna was in shock; this would be the first real mission she would attend, as the collecting-the-twins-from-America one didn't count. At least, not to her. "Team Alpha," Lisa continued. "Will be Mr. Waltham, Ms. Harvelle, Mr Gledhill and Ms. Gilbert. You will be the ones dealing with the telkhines. Go to Conference Room 1A for your mission brief." Anna beamed with joy. Not only would she be dealing with her first mission, but she would be dealing with it with Sam. Sam, Lindsey, and Liam were all excited as well. "Team Beta will include Mr. Holway, Ms. Gledhill, Mr. Taylor, and Ms. Brooks. You will be flying to Scotland for a covert mission; try not to be caught. Go to Conference Room 1B for your mission brief. The rest of you will stay with me in training." The two teams left the Training Facility and walked swiftly to HQ. They said quick goodbyes before going into their respective conference rooms. "Hello young ones." Mrs. Waltham said once Anna had closed the door. "Welcome to Conference Room 1A." They all sat around the large table, with Mrs. Waltham at the head and Sam at the end. Anna sat on Sam's right. "Your first mission is set in an abandoned factory in North London; telkhine infestation. I need you to go and take care of it. Your weapons have already been brought up." She lifted the white tarp that was on the table to reveal everyone's weapons. Mrs. Waltham then handed Lindsey a folder, presumably with information about the mission. "Team Alpha," Sam said in a mock bossy voice. "Suit up." They all laughed as they grabbed their weapons. Sam reached for his shotgun, hand gun, and machine gun while Anna just grabbed her knife, her handgun being in her holster. Lindsey already had her collapsible crossbow and so just sheathed her knife, while Liam grabbed his pair of celestial bronze samurai swords. They all stood out of their chairs and walked towards the door. "Good luck, young ones." Mrs Waltham stated. "And Sameth. You might want to take your car keys." She added. Sam's grin slid onto his face. "Bye mum." He led the way to the car park, his car keys jingling in his hands. "Shotgun!" Lindsey shouted, which left Anna and Liam in the back. They all rushed into their respective seats in Sameth's '67 Impala, and he drove out of the car park. "So," Liam began. "Where exactly is this abandoned factory?" "According to this," Lindsey said, shuffling through the folder Mrs. Waltham had given her. "Ealing. The factory's called "Monocle Motors; an engine company chain that began in - who would have thought - America." "Great." Anna replied, her voice quivering. "You okay, An?" Sam asked, glancing at her through the mirror. "Yeah, fine." Anna lied. "Nervous, huh?" Liam asked her. Anna replied with a small nod. "Ah don't be; you're the best junior member we have - although don't tell my sister I said that." Anna laughed quietly as they passed over the Thames. Fortunately, there was little traffic, and Sam announced that they would be at the factory in about 10 minutes. Anna glanced out of her window and stared at the pedestrians passing by. Her thoughts drifted to Matt, and how he might be dealing with going on a covert mission with George, Bela, and Danielle; three people he barely knew. Anna was so deep in thought she didn't notice the car stop. "Alright guys," Sam began as he twisted in his seat to face us; Lindsey did the same. "Whats the game plan?" "I was thinking we sneak in through the back exit and take them by surprise." Lindsey stated. "That wouldn't work." Liam countered. "What if they're all working in the back? I think we should just storm through the main entrance." "Guys..." Anna said quietly. "Oh because that's such a great idea." Lindsey said sarcastically, seemingly not hearing Anna. "What about an air assault?" "Gee Lindsey, since when could you fly?" "Guys..." Anna repeated, using the same quiet tone. Sam was watching Lindsey and Liam as if they were a tennis match. Lindsey rolled her eyes. "Alright then do you have any ideas "genius?"" "We could dig underground." "That wouldn't wor---" "GUYS!" Anna said loudly. They all stared at her. "Now that I have your attention, I think the best idea would be maneuver 32." They had all done the same training course so they all understood what she was saying. "Two in the front, two in the back. Its the best shot we've got." "That's actually a great idea." Lindsey began. "If we calculate the number of telkhines on each side of the factory by the size of the factory then we should---" "In English?" Liam asked while Sam stared at Lindsey with admiration. Lindsey glared at Liam. "Anna's plan could work. So who's in the front and who's in the back?" Sam suddenly spoke. "How about Liam and I take the front while you and Anna make your way towards the back? We'll meet in the middle." "Okay." Lindsey replied. Her and Anna clambered out of the car and sprinted to the side of the factory. As they ran, Lindsey grabbed her collapsible bow and notched an arrow, while Anna pulled her handgun out of its strap. They sneaked through the back of the company when they suddenly heard a voice up ahead. "...what we're even doing here?" the voice said. It was soft and high pitched. Anna glanced at Lindsey who un-notched the arrow, put a finger to her lips, and motioned for Anna to follow her. They climbed over a ridge and hid behind a few crates. "We were told to be here." Another, rougher voice replied. "And since when do we do what we're told?" "We do what we're told when its Pontus that tells us what to do!" The rough voice said/ "How do we know it is Pontus thats telling us what to do? What if this stupid "Potamos" is just taking advantage of us?" "Its not taking advant--" The telkhine cut short and disintegrated, most likely due to the arrow located in its throat. Before the other telkhine could shout a warning, Anna had shot it in the stomach three times, and it disintegrated also. "Potamos?" Anna asked. "Greek River god." Lindsey answered. "Very old, very easy to deal with." She added confidently. "Good to know," Anna said as they crept through the factory. They could hear telkhines screaming from a distance, most likely because of Liam and Sam. Anna and Lindsey continued through the factory, shooting down any telkhines they could see. The telkhines began to join together until there was a large group of them in front of the monster hunters. Eventually, Anna and Lindsey were separated by the dozens of telkhines surrounding them. "Anna!" Lindsey shouted. "Where are you? Get somewhere high!" "I will!" Anna replied, as she began climbing one of the ladders that led to a catwalk. A telkhine suddenly jumped at Lindsey and grabbed her bow; the string snapped. She cursed and pulled out her collapsible crossbow. "I hate using crossbows, but it'll have to do." She said as she shot down two telkhines. "How many collapsible weapons do you own?!" Anna asked as a telkhine ran towards her. She shot it down, before Lindsey replied. "Thats for me to know and you to never find out." Lindsey stated with a grin. Suddenly, Sam and Liam burst through the large double doors. "Hit the deck!" Liam shouted. Anna and Lindsey had just crouched onto the floor when Sam started shooting his machine gun. Telkhines everywhere began disintegrating until eventually there were none left. Anna and Lindsey stood up and walked over to the boys. "Is that all of them?" Sam asked, and Lindsey nodded. "So now what?" "Now we go back to your mum and ask her if she knows how a Potamos is involved in all of this." "A Potamos?" Liam asked. "Long story, I'll explain in the car." Lindsey replied. Her and Liam walked out of the factory towards the car. During their conversation, Anna had walked over to Sam; he had a long, bloody gash on his left cheek. "What happened?" Anna asked, reaching for a strip of gauze she kept in in her utility belt, along with a few other medicinal supplies. She gave it to Sam and he held it onto the wound. "Its nothing big; just a scratch." Sam replied, although Anna continued to glance at him with a worried look. "I'm fine, An." "If you say so." Anna replied calmly, and they made their way out of the factory. Chapter 3 They arrived back at HQ in less that half an hour. Sam parked the car as the rest of them went into the building to look for Mrs. Waltham. "Where's her office?" Liam asked. "Because I'm sure she doesn't spend all her time in conference room 1A." "Its on the top floor; room 7A." Anna provided, as she had spent many afternoons with Sameth there when she was younger. "We can't access the seventh floor," Lindsey moaned as they reached the elevator. She brought out her key card and pressed the elevator button. "The highest we can go is to the fifth floor." "I have access to the seventh floor." Anna said quietly. Lindsey and Liam looked at her with disbelief. "When Emily adopted me I got access to everything!" She said defensively. Anna feared that her seemingly "higher" rank would tarnish her relationship with Liam and Lindsey; she was wrong. "No need to be all defensive!" Liam said with a grin. Just then, the elevator arrived. They all crowded in and Anna was about to enter her key card when they suddenly heard a shout. "Hold the elevator!" It was Sam. They made their way up to the seventh floor and found 7A. Anna knocked on the door and they all pushed through the door. "Welcome back, team Alpha." "Mum," Sam said. "We found something out." "What is it?" Mrs. Waltham asked. "A Potamos." Lindsey cut in. "A minor river god. Probably under the orders of Pontus." "A Potamos?" Mrs. Waltham asked in shock. "That's not good. They usually serve Poseidon, and while I don't like the Olympians, they're better than the Protegnoi." "So what do we do?" Liam asked. "We need to know the prophecy." Mrs. Waltham said with a sigh. "All we really know about it is-" She cut herself off before glancing around at them and clearing her throat. "You four will need to find it. " "But the twins-" Anna began. "Will be fine." Mrs. Waltham cut in. "But we must know the prophecy. You must leave right away. Unfortunately, I have no leads for you. But I'm sure you'll figure something out. You should leave fairly soon; I'll give you an hour or two to collect your things." After that she left the room solemnly. They made their way towards their room, Sameth in the lead. When they entered the room they found Jack, Alex, and Jamie lying on their respective beds. Jamie sat up when they walked into the room. He burst into his questions. "What happened? Did you find the telkhines? Did you kill them all? What were they like? What are you guys doing?" The last question was directed at Anna and Sameth, who were collecting spare bullets from their drawers. "We're going on another mission." Anna replied. "But don't worry, we'll be back soon." Lindsey and Liam were waiting by the door, apparently not wanting to collect anything from the room. Before anyone could ask anymore questions, Anna and Sameth ran out of the room. Sameth grabbed Lindsey and Liam and shoved them through the corridor. Anna followed along behind. "Whoa slow down!" A hunter said gruffly as they pushed past him. Sameth didn't falter. He continued to plow down the corridor until they reached a broom closet. He pulled the door open and pushed Liam and Lindsey in, before grabbing Anna and pulling her inside as well. He then proceeded to shut the door, and place a broom under the handle, to keep someone passing by from entering. "Right." He began slowly. "Am I the only one that felt my mother was acting very...peculiar before?" "Yeah she was." Lindsey replied. "And don't say "peculiar"." She added. "You sound strange." Sameth flashed a grin before saying, "She cut herself off when talking about the prophecy." "Yeah!" Anna cut in. "Something about "all they know about it."" "So what do you want us to do, Sam?" Liam asked, and glanced at him. Lindsey and Anna did the same, and for the first time Sameth saw how they looked at him during training and missions; as a leader. "We need to find out what they know." Sameth replied. "But that means hacking into The Council's computer system..." Anna trailed off. She cleared her throat before continuing. "And we don't know any of the passwords or anything." "Yeah." Sam said, his usual grin showing up on his face. "And its not like we know a super genius or anything...." He said slowly, pointing obviously at Lindsey. "I'm not a super genius, Sam." She said with a sigh. "It just helps that my parents work with new technology in the lab. I just know my way around a computer system." "Yeah," Sameth said, and they could all hear the sarcasm forming in his voice. "Its not like when we were a couple of thirteen year olds you hacked into the school's computer system and made them think we were supposed to get a day off." "That's the school's computer system, Sam." Lindsey said, in a tone that suggested her comment cleared everything up. She noticed their expressions and continued. "Its much easier to hack into. What you're asking me to do is on a completely different scale. Plus, we're supposed to have left on our mission." "Think of this as a covert mission," Sam said lightly. "A sorta started mission, before the real thing. C,mon, it won't be that hard." He noticed all of their reluctant expressions and stared at them with puppy dog eyes. "Please?" "I'm in." Anna said abruptly. Of course she was. Sameth spent most of his time trying to make her happy, and if this would please his curiosity, then what kind of sister would she be if she denied him of her support? "Me too." Liam added calmly. They all stared at Lindsey. "Fine." She said with a reluctant smile. "But only if we do this properly. It has to be planned to the second." "Well we should do it in the next few hours, so we better get started planning!" Sam said enthusiastically. "When did our lives get so strange that we sat around in closets thinking of a plan that involves hacking into The Council's computer system and could probably get us all grounded?" Anna asked herself out loud. "Oh Anna, that's so cute!" Lindsey said mockingly. "You thought our lives weren't always this strange." Chapter 4 After almost an hour within the closet, they emerged and put their plan into action. Lindsey and Liam used Anna's key card to make their way up to the seventh floor. Meanwhile, Sameth and Anna went to the basement, where the security room was. Sameth stood outside the door and gave Anna a thumbs up. She knocked on the door, and charged in. "Excuse me?" She began to the man sitting at the desk. She glanced at the computer screens that broadcast the camera feeds. "They need your help down in the dorms. There's been a - er - security breach." The man stood up quickly and rushed out of the room, seemingly not noticing Sameth standing in the corner. "Well," Anna began. "That was easy." "Agreed," Sameth said. "A little too easy." He placed the Seventh floor cameras on an infinite loop - Lindsey had shown him how to earlier - and they left the room. Using Sameth's key card, they elevated up to the seventh floor. Lindsey and Liam were waiting for them in the closet beside Mrs. Waltham's office. "We disabled the cameras." Anna said as they walked into the closet. "Great!" Liam said enthusiastically. "You and Linds should go into her office and Sam and I will stand guard." Lindsey nodded in agreement and her and Anna made their way out of the closet and into Mrs. Waltham's office. Lindsey set to work on the computer, Anna watching her every move. "Is it working?" Anna asked after a few minutes. "Yep." Lindsey replied. "A few more minutes and everything we need will be on this USB stick." She suddenly gasped. "I left my laptop in our room! You'll have to go and get it." Anna rushed towards the door and was about to grab the door handle when she heard Sameth's voice. "Mum!" He said loudly, while Liam knocked three times on the door. "What are you doing here?" "This is my office, Sameth." She replied. "What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be on your mission?" Anna moved away from the door and didn't hear Sameth's answer. She stared at Lindsey, who placed a finger to her lips, before giving Anna a thumbs up; the download was successful. The doorknob suddenly rattled. "Mum, wait!" Sameth shouted. "You need to fire one of the security guards. He abandoned his post." "Michael abandoned his post?" She said sternly. "I wonder why. Let me just place my paperwork in my office and then I'll go down." "I'll do that for you!" Liam said suddenly. A sudden shuffling implied that Liam had taken hold of the paperwork. Anna heard loud footsteps and knew Mrs. Waltham had gone. She sighed with relief. "Let's get out of here before she comes back." Lindsey said as she opened the office door. Sameth and Liam were standing to the side. They all sprinted out of the building and into the car park. Anna ran into the dorms to pick up Lindsey's laptop. She then ran outside. Sameth unlocked his car before they all jumped in and drove. "Where are we going?" Liam asked. "Anywhere away from here, for a start." Chapter 5 They drove for miles on end until they ran out of petrol on a North Eastern London road. Snowflakes began to fall almost as soon as the car stopped. Anna opened the car door and clambered out; the rest soon followed. A quick glance at their surroundings told them they were in the center of what seemed to be a forest. "What do we do now?" Anna asked quietly. "We look at the files we found." Lindsey said and sat on the ground, which was now covered in snow. The others sat around her. Lindsey pulled out her USB and stuck it into her laptop. She swiftly, almost expertly, scanned through the folders before stating that they weren't what they were looking for. Finally, she clicked on a folder named "PONPROPH - 1." "Pon''tus ''Proph''ecy." Lindsey explained. The folder contained images of different Greek vases, that presumably were depictions of Pontus. It also contained a word document filled with legends about Pontus. At the bottom of the document was a small paragraph. Anna saw her name in it. ''Recent evidence has provided us with the conclusion that Anna Gilbert is somehow involved in the prophecy. We also have reason to believe that the twins recovered from America, Jamie and Alex Harrington, are the twins of prophecy. "That's what she didn't want to tell us?" Anna thought aloud. "It seems so." Sameth replied grimly. He glanced at the computer screen and his eyes suddenly widened. Before Anna could follow his gaze, he shut the laptop. "Why don't you and Liam go check if we have fuel in the back?" Sameth asked, his tone innocent. Although Anna could tell he was trying to get rid of her. "Sure." She said with a fake smile. Her and Liam walked back towards the car and began rummaging through the back. Anna glanced at Sameth and Lindsey. The laptop screen was up again and they were both staring intently at it. Anna wondered what it could be? And why Sameth wouldn't want her to see? She didn't just wonder. She worried. Anna must have had a worried look on her face because Liam seemed to notice. "You okay?" He asked her as he grabbed a container of petrol out of the back. "Hm?" She said, clearly not listening. Her eyes were still on Lindsey and Sameth. She turned to Liam and said, "Yeah, I'm fine. Kinda tired." Anna had never really spoken to Liam, and figured he wold disapprove of her annoyance at not knowing. "They're obviously hiding something from us." Liam whispered, to her surprise. "But what?" "I-I don't know." Anna stuttered, clearly shocked that Liam wasn't disapproving. "Something important, probably." Liam went round the car and started to fill it with petrol. Anna leaned towards where Lindsey and Sameth were sitting and strained her ears trying to hear something. "...might not even be true." Lindsey's voice, very faintly. "If it isn't true, why would it be in the folder?" Sameth asked angrily. Anna had never heard him sound so angry. Lindsy shut the laptop and they both made their way back to the car. "All done." Liam announced. They strapped themselves into the car and drove down the dark road. After around half an hour, the sun began to set. "Maybe we should stop somewhere?" Anna suggested. "I mean, we don't even know where we're going!" "OH!" Lindsey shouted suddenly. "I completely forgot! Sam and I found something on the computer file; someone that could help us. Only problem is-" "His father is Pontus." Sameth interrupted. "Which means he could be our enemy." "Technically, any supernatural and/or mythological deity is our enemy." Liam pointed out. "True." "The point is," Lindsey started. "If this guy - Nereus - agrees to tell us what we need - the prophecy - we could be done by this time tomorrow." "Is he even in the country?" Anna asked. "Last I heard he was over in America." "He was." Lindsey and Sameth said simultaneously. They glanced at each other before Sameth continued. "But according to the folder, he relocated to Greenwich; just a few miles away from here." "Why?" Anna asked. "Why leave America? Isn't that where all the greek gods and such are?" "Yes." Lindsey replied. "The folder says he "had an unpleasant experience with a couple of demigods," a few years back." "And we're off to Greenwich." Liam said glumly. "Yay." Chapter 6 They arrived in Greenwich around an hour and a half after they refilled the car. Another half an hour was spent trailing around the area, looking for someone that could be Nereus. "Maybe we should call it a day?" Lindsey said. "Its around 7pm. I doubt he'll still be out, if he even is in this area." They all murmured in agreement, when an exclamation of disgust erupted from Sameth. "What is that foul smell?" he asked. At that moment, the car was passing an old man who was seemingly asleep on a bench. The stench was a mixture of hot seaweed, dead fish and brine. Sameth stopped the car. "Do you think thats him?" he whispered. "Yes, I think it is." The old man stated. "The rules are one question per capture, but I'm sure you already knew tha- You aren't demigods." "No we aren't." Lindsey said quickly as she opened the car door and clambered out. She had her collapsible bow in her hand.. "We're mortals. But we need your help." "Well, I've never been captured by a mortal, but you can try." He began to sprint behind the bench when Lindsey let loose an arrow. The moment before the arrow hit him, it expanded into a net. "No fair!" He said from under the net. He sounded a little like a young child. "No weapons allowed!" They all clambered out of the car and walked towards him. "That wasn't one of the rules you gave us." Sameth said with a grin. "Very well." Nereus said softly. "It was an ingenious method, after all." Anna cut open the net using her knife and Nereus stood up. "What is it you want?" He asked. "The prophecy." Sameth replied confidently. "Pontus' prophecy." "Trying to go after my father?" Nereus said. He noticed the alarmed expression on their faces and continued. "Ah, don't worry. I was never very close to him. Besides, a deal is a deal. Here." he said as he held out his hand to Lindsey; there was a piece of parchment in it. Lindsey took the parchment and Nereus suddenly disappeared. "I'll read it out loud." She said. :"A bloodthirsty foe who has longed to consume, :Awaiting the collision of the sun and moon. :The Twins of Old can guarantee, :That the foe is freed for eternity. :The Truth and Clay must join together, :To keep the unbeatable foe tethered forever." They all stood there in awe. Anna broke the silence. "The truth and the clay?" She asked no-one in particular. "What could that mean?" "I don't know." Sameth replied as he took out his phone and took a picture of the prophecy. "The Council will want to take the prophecy, and it would be nice to have a copy." Liam and Lindsey made their way back to the car. "Is it me, or was that too easy?" Anna asked Sameth. "Way too easy." He agreed. They walked back to the car and started the long drive back to HQ. Chapter 7 "We did it." Anna said as the car stopped in front of The Council's HQ, her voice filled with disbelief. "We actually found the prophecy." "Yep." Lindsey said with a smile. "We did it." "That has to have been the easiest mission ever." Liam said happily. They all clambered out of the car and made their way towards the main building. Sameth placed his arm on Anna's shoulder. "So, little sister," He began, with a mocking tone. "Did you learn a lot on this quest about the value of life? Did you discover the metaphysical? Did you-" "Stop trying to sound "smart."" Anna said with a smile. "It was fun." "And that's what's important." Sameth replied with a grin. They used the elevator to get to the seventh floor. Lindsey knocked on Mrs. Waltham's office door. A swift "come in" answered and they all pushed their way through the door. "We did it!" Sameth began. "We found the whole proph-" He cut himself off when he saw that there was somebody else in the room. Two somebodies. A boy with green eyes and brown hair, aged around twenty, was sitting in the extra chair in the office. A girl with strawberry blonde hair and eyes as blue as the ocean, around the same age as the boy, was standing over him. "Children," Mrs, Waltham began sternly. "These are...old friends of mine. Felicia and Daniel." After a moment's pause, she continued. "Anna." Her voice was softer. "This is your brother." Author's Note Category:Albus Chase Category:The Council Category:Original Idea Category:Complete